iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"Across the Universe" Series #acrylic #traditionalart #scifi I am such a nerd. Our upcoming show at Feat of Clay is scifi themed, I've selected my favorite tenets of dystopian fiction: 1 - Crossing Threshold 2 - Down the Road 3 - Exile 4 - Revelation I have 3 more WIPs, but this may be it.

Fallout may just be my favorite series for uncovering "old world blues" and helping out struggling communities. This acrylic is 6.5"x10" and on paper. Crossing the Threshold is a uniting theme in most science fiction epics.

"Down the Road" feels like Fallout narrated by Tom Waits. No town was the Lone Wanderer's home, another theme commonly assigned to a stranger in a strange land. Acrylic, 6.5"x10", on paper.

I struggled with this theme, "Exile." As a kid, Mad Max was one of my all-time favorite films. Understanding the Hero's Journey as an adult had made it iconic and I don't think I've done it justice. Acrylic on paper, 6.5"x10".

Revelation(s) make for great plot twists and when I was reviewing my personal list of "best of" scifi films, "Planet of the Apes" deserved a rendering. Acrylic paint, paper, 6.5"x10".

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Simply Sushi #inkling #foodart #illustration Sometimes, "kiss it" makes you hungry. I think that a new sticker series is afoot. *Kiss It = Keep It Simple, Stupid

Ink'd line art of various sushi/sashimi pieces with a focus on texture. I'm really thrilled with my caterpillar roll on the top-left.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

"Untitled" #traditionalart #illustration #watercolor My daughter was given a pair of male guinea pigs 2 years ago from a coop member. They're hilarious, very food motivated and quite opinionated: crinkle a bag, I dare you. Viola! A pig in blooms. Still need a quaint title.

Close-up photo of a watercolored guinea pig in a field of blooms.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Wizards are not nearly common enough on #blueskyart, much less this kind of clever practitioner. These cephalopods are severely under-represented. Well done and simply darling, I hope this share brightens your day.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Water bankruptcy. It's real. Now, this summer. It's happening. Gird your loins, leave all of your longing, cultivate whatever you love the most: only sci-fi can guide us. We're having to rely on fiction to guide us through this next phase, remember: "Da Nile" is a much more than a river.

Perfect late winter day in San Juan County, New Mexico. It was 88 degrees. We suffered the worst sand-storm yet and our winter precipitation came from only TWO systems October forward.

Great Kivas in Bloomfield, New Mexico. The Chacoan outliers are scattered across the Four Corners. Archeology puzzles over why these huge communities of natives abandoned this region between 1,000-1,200 years ago -- as a resident of almost a decade, I can tell you: it stopped raining. Can't grow crops without irrigation.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

San Juan County does not host the Rio Grande that leads to Albuquerque, but this is a memory link. We're all so very dry.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

"This Little Wild Bouquet" #traditionalpainting #fineart #humanart Democracy is coming to the USA. This fervent prayer by Leonard Cohen was written in 1992. I am thrilled to have gouache on paper done in time for America's semiquincentennial. God willing, I'll have it framed by July. 8x10

Photographed by the shade of a lace curtain (Fuck You, AI scrapers), this gouache painting features impressionistic blooms in Red, White & Blue. The lyrics read: "I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean / I love the country, but I can't stand the scene / I'm neither Left or Right, I'm just staying home tonight / getting lost in this hopeless little screen / I'm junk, but I'm still holding up / This little wild bouquet / Democracy is coming to the USA."

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

"This Little Wild Bouquet" #traditionalart #watermedia #leonardcohen Cohen's album, "The Future" was published in 1992. It's the most prescient album of my lifetime (I was 5) for the tremulous world we live in. "Democracy is coming to the USA" finally has a painting that symbolizes reverence. ❣️

Palettes and painting featured on masonite, done in gouache, with symbolic colors and distinct species of flowers.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

"This Little Wild Bouquet" #gouache #traditionalart #painting Borrowed from a Cohen lyric, this bit of whimsy makes me smile. "I'm Junk, but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet, Democracy is coming to the USA." 8x10 Watermedia ftw.

Work in progress snapshot of masking tape, original study and the sticker to inspire it. I love the lighting on this composition.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

"You can't stop the rain, but we can slow the flash flood." Lucas Miles untitled writing project

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Something green. This one fell to failed material/technique, but I still love the teal, yellow and orange working together. Will definitely reincarnate this palette. Inktense for the win! Not on Windsor & Newton watercolor paper.

Cropped image of giant lily pads done in Inktense pencils.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

"Pray for Rain" #watercolor #newmexico #traditionalart I've been attempting to paint rain storms in watercolor. These studies were loosely based on my photographs & pushing different color triads. Last winter was our driest. With prayers like these, I hope our summer will be the wettest. 5x7

An odd angle trying to capture the palette as well as the four-panel sheet. Frog tape passed its first test.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

"Watercolor Floral" #watercolor #traditionalart #botanical On 5/9, Feat of Clay is hosting a class to experiment with watercolor. This isn't step-by-step or "copy the instructor" setup. We give you the tools & a handful of techniques to carry on. Bite-sized. Paint a greeting card in Aztec, NM!

Taped off 5x7 greeting card from Strathmore that features purple irises and a variety of techniques in watercolor.

Close-up of intended subjects: tulips & irises on watercolor paper.

Different angle showcasing water-balance.

Original practice sheets for class concept.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I had a dream last year that I can't shake: choosing between 3 hastily painted coffins at the behest of an Admin that wouldn't tell me how my daughter was killed. Of all injustices, the state of our public schools ranks at the top of my list. I don't blame the guns. I blame the violent system.

A text log between myself and my daughter.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

"Chockful of Lilies" #traditionalart #acrylicpainting #floral 8"x8" Canvas $86 + shipping A birthday gift best timed deserves a hallmark: I'd never painted a bouquet before. What a pleasure, without the pressure of preserving whites/accounting for stamens. We should all grow more lilies. 💐

An acrylic painting that features white & pink lilies, yellow/white accent flowers and stark greenery highlighted by a gloss varnish.

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Reposted by Amanda Lee Harig

Dirk Gently @ktc2.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

"Chockful of Lilies" #traditionalart #painting #floral Still tinkering, but I'm narrowing down the values and blending greys & pastels. After deciding my small acrylic brushes are at the end of their use, I've got to try something beyond "golden taklon." Any suggestions?

Greys & pinks & yellows blended into lily shapes with obscure carnations and a flower I can never remember the name of. Done in acrylic.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

"Chockful of Lilies" #traditionalart #acrylic #bouquet Having never painted a bouquet, this painting is a gift of gratitude from my birthday. Limited palette, live reference, focal point. While this photo is a work-in-progress, I think I'm nearing "finished."

A variety of lilies in various stages of opening. 8"x8" canvas.

Earlier stage of values in acrylic paint.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Spring has Sprung. (NW NM didn't have much of a winter.) One of my favorite places in town. I believe this is a flowering almond, sharp angles, drifting petals. Taken for a client that's been out of town all month.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Epiphany George RR Martin was from Santa Fe. Zorro Ranch became a destination for these cannibal-pedophiles. It just dawned on me: Littlefinger from Game of Thrones was a fictional Epstein.

media.tenor.com

Knowledge Is Power - Game Of Thrones GIF

ALT: Knowledge Is Power - Game Of Thrones GIF

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

New Mexico San Miguel & Mora Counties #landscape #newmexico #wildwest It's March and I'm ready to hit "fast forward" into May. I need to do those cloud studies -- the only use for cauliflower effects in watercolor -- and be able to share the paintings in Watrous.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Workhorses & Goals 2026 #traditionalmedia #botanicals #doodles When material world is daunting, I turn to creation. When the imagination is flouted, I turn to studies. FOC has an unintentional "little library." The book has been quite a find and this workhorse page, a bit of a renewal.

Multi-medium approaches to floral paintings: I felt a need to tackle shape. Excellent reference by Sue Burton. The sketch page is loose and built up with pencil/layers thereof to push value/volume.

Tombow's water-based tonal markers are a fun, light-hearted way to push values. The sketch includes a variety of flower/leaf shapes.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

"Flee-dom" #traditionalart #illustration #arttherapy This one went back up, yesterday. I needed to photograph it, but never did, as my 20-yr old Canon's buttons are malfunctioning. It's too large to scan. Damn the Will that endorses what just happened in Iran. We're all going to pay for this.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Now this is truly haunting: curious egrets, abandoned stairwell, stark use of contrast. That, #blueskyart, is gorgeous. Thank you.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

We're due for one more good frost, but rarely is it this pretty in New Mexico.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

"Fauna of San Juan Basin" #traditionalart #mixedmedia #illustration I tend to archive things that do not match the vision upon outset. The gentle soul in my life has done it again: collage a foreground that I'm happy with. Welp, critters & scrap paper & gouache and I'm happy.

The cutouts depict a Horny Toad, a Navajo Pot Carrier, a thrush. Each has helped the other to evolve in our high-desert, pinon/juniper biome.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

I love cohesive colour in abstract paintings. It's the "glue" for the shapes, or maybe it works as a group -- this is an excellent example of building facets with tone/hue and the artist uses contrast sparingly to draw the eye. Awesome painting, I had to share.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

"Fungus Amongus" #traditionalart #badlands #gouachepainting Composed in 3 days, this mimicry was definitely my favorite for theme and value study in the last year. It also set a record for how long it took to sell: less than 3 weeks.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

An Impulse #inkling #chinesezodiak #illustration I have a binder of photographs that've been collected over the years. This particular horse caught my attention with its exuberance as it ran past the camera. The perspective was wonky, but dynamic and well suited to ink with a brush.

Black horse depicted in ink as it rushes a gateway in honor of the "Fire Horse" year coming upon us.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Stickers 2025 #art #illustration #artshop Did I intentionally set out to illustrate scales and exoskeletons? No. All four are experiments with Krita. Digital painting is an old hat for me & it's nice to use intuitive, non-extortionist software. Asking Price: $3 each. Buy all four for $10.

Digital illustration of small fish organized into a larger fish while chasing a much more portly fish with a recent victim in its mouth. Image size: 4"x2".

Egyptian-derived Scarab beetle rendering. Sticker size: 2"x3".

"Mr. Slithersands" was suggested by my daughter, age 8, for a sticker. Four years later, this one is approximately 2.5"x3.5" and is definitely my personal favorite.

This is an experiment to see how well watercolor will reprint as a sticker with a color play in traditional media. This one is 2"x2" as well as 4"x4".

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Reposted by Amanda Lee Harig

michaeledward @michaeledward.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

'L’Art de la Conversation' ('The Art of Conversation'), 1963, oil on canvas, by 20th century Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte (1898-1967).

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

"Organize" #digitalink #eattherichfish #illustration Obviously, I'm not the one stenciling fish on walls in this fashion. But I did challenge myself to make this one my own. I wanted to render as many faces as I could on different body types. Some of these guys really make me giggle.

A school of fish on the left chasing down a large fish with a top-hat and cuff on its tail. Rendered in Krita.

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Reposted by Amanda Lee Harig

Agnieszka @agniesz.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care, but for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hell's despair ... William Blake, an English poet, painter, and printmaker, born on this day, 1757 #BookSky #Painting #WilliamBlake 🎨 Jacob's dream

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

"Miniature Equine" #animalstudy #traditionalmedia #equine Basis for a new illustration, I needed to brush up on anatomy and chunkier proportions of these curious beasts-of-burden. It's been too long since I've simply "studied" a subject.

Two developed sketches of miniature horses, a chestnut and a fleabitten version, rendered in Graphitint pencils and Sum-e ink.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

"Be Blessed with Longevity" #chrysanthemum #botanicalart #mixedmedia I've had this gold-foil frame for years -- Mum found it when I was a teen -- the knicks & dings required detail work to obscure the damage. A little enamel & india ink, Viola! Asking $295.

Framed illustration of 3 chrysanthemum blooms on toned paper. The gold leafing is a little more yellow than the rose-gold foil, but with the ink, the distressed look helped balance the two.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

"All About Lighting" #watercolor #traditionalart #nostalgia Quoting with night time art. Never could get good prints of this one. But! It was a wonderful experiment with all the tools: watercolor, ink, colored pencil, gouache. On-set painting in Watrous, NM.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Portfolio Work #traditionalmedia #watercolor #ink I've always loved ancient ruins for where they guide my imagination to -- be it destruction or decay. My God, it is wonderful to put these two behind glass: "Flee-dom" (left) and "Vicarious" (right). Yes, I just bought frames. Bad artist.

Two framed illustrations that share ruins as subject matter. The left is a prior post: "Flee-dom." The right is the newest painting: "Vicarious."

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

"Vicarious" #traditionalart #watercolor #inkling I stalked my dear friend's facebook, a local journalist & a nurturer by nature, during her trip to Greece. While hardly an exact copy, this rendering was a pleasure to challenge myself with & I believe, it showcases my technical skill w/perspective.

A depiction of Greek ruins with townhomes and a temple in the background. This watercolor and ink rendering is brightly colored with Hunter's Green, Prussian Blue, Permanent Yellow Deep, Raw Sienna and Burnt Sienna in varying ratios. Photo was heavily referenced.

Original photo by my dear friend, Rebecca.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 19/10/2025

#NoKings What happens the day after the revolution under a surveillance state? We party. Solidarity makes for good friends. Direct democracies are formed as immediate needs are organized -- food, water, repair. They will come with precognitive scripts: remain blameless. The fight begins.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

"Frida" Acrylic - 16"x20" #traditionalart #portraitart #canvas One of the biggest changes in process for me was the ability to "rinse & repeat" a composition for additional versions. I do burn-out, but as the work unfurls, mistakes become evident & another pass is desirable. WIPs shared below.

Early values established help refine shape. I chose raw umber, titanium white and later: dioxazine purple for a palette.

This is where I went awry on values, but established the background as the deepest value set.

More nudging of her facial planes, rounding of cranial sphere, emphasizing the "roundness" of a middle-aged woman's body.

Where I left off with purple+umber, focusing on shadows, making values cohesive.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

"Colorado Sunflower" #traditionalmedium #watercolor #framedart Watrous holidays are always replenishing. This Labor Day, however, I needed to clear some space at Feat of Clay & took a series of prints/small originals to share. The buyer sent me a photo of this one's new home -- beside Legos. 🥰

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

"Frida" Pencil + Ink WIP #traditionalmedium #illustration #portrait As a teen, portraits were all I cared to do. I got stuck. In the last six years, I've worked on anatomy, muscled the planes of the face, argued with old habits by line-heavy drawing. Always a work-in-progress. People are hard.

Sepia ink over promising pencil lines. Frida Khalo was quite the character -- hoping to capture her likeness here.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

"Be Blessed with Longevity" #floral #illustration #traditionalart I've been meaning to draw Chrysanthemums for a while now due to their significance in TCM. My original material revealed itself as AI-sourced: the composition fooled me. Layers of ink, paint & pencil: viola! Nature worship.

Initial ink layers on three blooms of Chrysanthemum morifolium.

Stages of layers: bottom includes colored pencil, middle has ink and paint, top bloom in ink only.

Rounding the corner: layers of pencil atop of ink with Chinese White watercolor for emphasis.

Glamour shot of the finished "foiling" (gold paint) that grounded the whole composition.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Quoting and posting! You never know true gold until you've seen a field of sunflowers in a sunset. Then I mute the colors.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 22/07/2025

"A Fisher King" #gouache #traditionalmedia #illustration I'd been thoroughly frustrated over the weekend with my lack of expansion on an age-old concept. Schmo'well. Thusly, pick a different medium & find a new subject. Viola! Gouache sunset with a kingfisher's silhouette. I ❤️ my Workhorse.

A gouache painting of a perched Kingfisher silhouette with an apocalyptic sunset in the background. Layering the furthest subject first, the foreground last.

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Amanda Lee Harig @brassycrass.bsky.social · 20/07/2025

Workhorse Tinkering #pencil #traditionalmedia #conceptart Workhorses are sketchbooks that serve as archives. I'm onto #11. This allows me to revisit ideas & develop subjects that didn't feel right at the time. One such idea is a biblical reference that still isn't "right," but is expanding.

Pencil sketches of a mechanical concept from 2010. Still unhappy, hence the "break away" of mushroom gnomes.

The plug has been a central theme to this mechanical beast, but obviously, insufficiently symbolic for a full-blown illustration. I just keep revisiting the idea until lightning strikes.

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